So here's one a lot of people have been waiting for. I've finally got a working (more or less) AI for Champions of Vargacet implemented. I'm having some troubles with the server so I can't update just yet, but when I do it will now be possible to fight "practice" games against random CPU parties. Since the AI would have to be upgraded considerably in order for it to accurately be called "dumb as toast", so the rewards are minimal, but hey, it gives you a chance to mess around some.

My immediate plans are to switch summoned characters to be under AI control, to help counteract the dominance of Lords. To help counteract the counteraction of the dominance of Lords, they'll also get a new skill that will allow them to take direct control of nearby soldiers for a turn. I actually don't expect this to have too huge of an impact; dumb as the AI is, with only 1 weak attack there's not exactly a lot of room for it to screw up. At some point in the future I'll be raising the cap on the number of reinforcements on the field at a time, too, although I'm not sure if the switch to AI control will be enough of a nerf to justify this right away or if I should wait until I get around to some of the class ideas I have that would have abilities to discourage attempts to swarm. Druids are due for a buffing too, which should also help make mass-soldier strategies less effective; having 15 characters on the field doesn't do you any good if they're all being blocked from reaching the enemy.